November 29 – Unity Day in Vanuatu

nPosted on November 29, 2017

Key points

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nThe idea of “unity” fits well with how this day is celebrated in the South Pacific Ocean nation of Vanuatu:

There’s a parade of dancers in traditional costumes. There are music concerts and dance performances. There are sporting events. Families picnic or camp. There are even prayer meetings focusing on the unity of all the people.
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nHowever, the reason for the date does NOT fit in with “unity.” November 29 is the anniversary of a 1977 scuffle between crowds of French-speaking Vanuatu residents and English-speaking Vanuatu residents, and police ended up tear gassing the crowds in order to get them to go their separate ways.

nIn remembrance of that day as a kind of warning what NOT to do, Vanuatu holds Unity Day.

nIn case you were wondering…

nWhy were French- and English-speakers duking it out on an island nation in the South Pacific?
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nAn island nation with a population of almost entirely Melanesian people…

nAn island nation that was first “discovered” (by Europeans) by a Portuguese navigator…

nA nation with its largest island, Espíritu Santo, named in Spanish…

nWell, as you know, European nations tried to colonize lands and rule over people all over the world. At the time that the Portuguese explorer Pedro Fernandes de Queirós spotted one of the islands of the Vanuatu archipelago, in 1606, Portugal and Spain were united under the Spanish king, and so the island was given a Spanish name. But the settlement on that island died out.

The long-lasting colonization happened in the late 1700s – and it was carried out by both French and British folks. French colonists wanted France to annex the islands, and British colonists wanted Britain to do the same. In order to solve the dispute peacefully, France and Britain agreed to administer the islands together – a unique form of government called the Anglo-French condominium.

nOf course, the people wanted to govern themselves – and indeed Vanuatu was able to achieve independence in 1980.

nThese days, there are three official languages in Vanuatu: Bislama, French, and English.

nWhen I think of South Pacific islands, I think of beaches, volcanoes, and tourism. Sure enough, those three things are big in Vanuatu.
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nTourism is important – and growing – in Vanuatu. Here is a link to a tourism video.
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nVanuatu has so many lovely beaches, the people who list things like “Top 10 Beaches of Vanuatu” say that it’s “almost a bit unfair to compare” the beaches, since so many of them are “more postcard-worthy” than the beaches wherever tourists are traveling from…
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With 82 islands in its archipelago, many of them volcanic in origin, Vanuatu has two active volcanoes – and tourists actually get waaaaay closer than I can believe to erupting and smoking volcanic action!!!
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